“Apprenticeship to Jesus is about turning your body into a temple, a place of overlap between heaven and earth—an advance sign of what one day Jesus will do for the entire cosmos, when heaven and earth are at long last reunited as one. This is the single most extraordinary opportunity in the entire universe: to let your body become God’s home. And it’s set before you every single day.” ― John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like Him. Do as He did.

Jesus said lots of things that aren’t immediately easy to understand. Fully grasping what He said requires careful scripture study with some help from the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John, Jesus makes a puzzling statement that is not so hard to understand as much as it is hard to believe: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” (John 14:12). So how do we “do the same works.”

Scripture tells us that Jesus was a carpenter. “Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us…” (Mark 6:3). It’s likely that He learned the trade from His father, Joseph, but we know Jesus was more than just a carpenter, and His work as a carpenter doesn’t define His identity as the Son of God.

But imagine if you were an apprentice carpenter learning from Jesus in Biblical times. It would be safe to say you would be a sponge, soaking up the knowledge He shared and following Him around to watch His techniques, His choice of wood and tools, and the process in which He creates His work. We would ask questions and avail ourselves of every opportunity to soak up all the information we could to not only how to do things but do things His way. After all, He  He is the master craftsman, and we are the apprentices.   

Over time, we’d go from being in the way to practicing the Jesus method of carpentry. One day, we may have apprentices of our own to pass along what we learned from Jesus.

You probably see the connection to today. Jesus has a way of doing things, and we are supposed to do the things He does the way He says to do them. Jesus’ life emphasized acts of compassion, love, service, and actively sharing the Gospel, encouraging believers to emulate these actions in their daily lives, mirroring Jesus’ ministry by reaching out to the marginalized, demonstrating forgiveness, and prioritizing the needs of others, all while guided by the Holy Spirit.  We need to do as He did.

“The joyful news that He is Risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice” (St Augustine).

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the barrier to understanding Jesus’ actions, identifying core principles of His ministry like love, compassion, and service, and then reflecting on how to practically apply those principles in your own life?

Note: The nature of God is beyond our figuring out.  We need help if we are going to begin to understand who God is and how we can relate to Him.  It takes God to know God.  This is why He gives us His many names that describe who He is.  We need these many names to get a true picture of the nature of God. Over the next few Fridays, we will look at the different names of God in the scriptures. The first name we will talk about is El Shaddai, God Almighty.

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” – Genesis 17:1-2 (ESV).

Names are a big deal to us today, but back in biblical times, they were even more critical. Names meant something; they sent a message about identity. There are many different names for God in Scripture because God can’t be summarized or captured with one name. One of them is El Shaddai, typically translated into English as “God Almighty.”

The first mention of EL Shaddai in Scripture occurs in Genesis 17:1. “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.” Abram needed to know that God was El Shaddai. He needed to know nothing was impossible for Him because His promise seemed impossible. It had been twenty-four years since God’s call to Abraham. He had promised to make him into a great nation, but after more than two decades, when Abraham was a year shy of living a century, he still had no son from Sarah’s womb.

What Abraham could not see was how El Shaddai would faithfully uphold His covenantal promises to the generations that flowed from his bloodline. Isaac blessed Jacob with the same blessing and promise God spoke to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham. Jacob would be the next generation carrying the blessing, and he would experience that promise a few years later in Genesis 35. “Then God said, I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants” (Genesis 35:11).

The message of this story is simple: Nothing is impossible for El Shaddai, “God Almighty.” As we continue to read the Bible’s story, we see that from Abram comes Isaac, then Jacob, then the people of Israel, then Jesus the Savior, and from Abraham’s spiritual descendants through Jesus comes the church (Romans 4-5), which today spans the globe. Nothing is impossible for El Shaddai.

God is still El Shaddai today. He’s still mighty. He can provide, make good on His promises, and keep His covenant.

Discussion Questions:

1. How have you seen God be almighty in your life?
2. In what areas of your life are you tempted to believe that God is not El Shaddai? In other words, where are you taking things into your own hands rather than trusting God?

We obsess over God’s will for my life – when the point is my life for God’s Will” – Louie Giglio, Instagram.

Have you ever been obsessed with God’s will for your life? Every Christian has probably asked that question at some point in their life and wondered, in turn, what the answer is. That question usually rises to the surface at life’s defining moments: choosing a spouse or a job, choosing what school to attend or which house to buy. These are the times we want to know if God endorses the decisions we are about to make.

Seeking God’s will always seem to be a conduit to tension. We want to please Him, so we are terrified of error. We spin in circles, wondering if God wants us to pay $8 for coffee at Starbucks or whether He would be in agreement with us going to Disney for vacation. Every choice becomes a “toss-up” or a situation with seemingly “balanced pros and cons” on each side of the decision.

This is where God’s plan and His will for your life come into play. You don’t need to know every detail of God’s will to trust Him. Life may feel chaotic, but you can rest knowing He’s in control. His plans never fail. You will get frustrated if you try to unravel God’s hidden plan for these decisions. Instead, focus on what He has revealed in His Word. Follow His commands, apply biblical wisdom, and trust that His sovereign plan will unfold perfectly, even if you don’t see it. Think of God’s revealed will as guardrails on a mountain road. It keeps you on the right path. And within those guardrails, you can move forward confidently, trusting Him to guide your steps. Life’s decisions may feel overwhelming, but when you trust God’s hidden will and follow His revealed will, you’ll find peace knowing you’re walking faithfully.

We need to remember this: Not every decision carries eternal weight. Yet, as Christians, we worry that a small decision we get wrong could derail God’s overall plan for our lives. According to various sources, the average person makes around 35,000 decisions per day, including many subconscious choices, and many of those will turn out to be wrong, so no wonder it generates worry. But no matter how much you stress over a decision, God’s plans can’t fail.  Most daily choices—what to wear, what to eat, how to handle a routine task—don’t require any deliberation.

When faced with a significant choice, it can be tempting to rely solely on our own reasoning and analysis. However, the Bible reminds us that true wisdom comes from trusting in God’s guidance and seeking His will in every decision. When you trust God’s Word and His work, you can focus on what matters: living faithfully, loving others, and honoring Him in everything you do.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you discern God’s will in a difficult decision?
2. What are the key biblical principles to consider when making choices?
3. How can you balance weighing options with trusting God’s plan?

“Most people want to hear or tell a good story. But they don’t realize they can and should be the good story. That requires intentional living. It is the bridge that crosses the gap to a life that matters.” – John Maxwell.

God is intentional, and He has called us to be the same. Being intentional is the key to accomplishing the right goals and living out our purpose. Living intentionally means doing things on purpose. For a Christian, living intentionally means becoming more like Jesus, which is not an easy task.

So why do we sometimes struggle to live intentionally? One reason is we don’t know who we are in Christ. Yes, that sounds a little philosophical, but think about it briefly. Identity is who you are. It is what you tell people you are. It is what you believe in your heart about yourself and have accepted about yourself. Striving to live for Him, glorifying His name, and walking out His purposes means your identity is rooted in who He says you are. If you want to live intentionally, we need to know God and let Him teach you who you are through His word.

You can’t live out God’s purpose for your life if you are running from Him or keeping Him at arm’s distance. Perhaps you know Him, but you choose to ignore His voice. You cannot live intentionally this way.  You can’t live intentionally listening to popular culture. In simple terms, culture is how a Christian relates to and interacts with society. Evidences of culture are all around us. The clothes we wear, what we watch and listen to, what we eat, how we think, what we read, and who we admire are just a few of the manifestations of culture. The implication for Christians is clear and challenging. Christians cannot simply uncritically absorb the culture in an attempt to be seen as relevant and calm because that could mean forsaking their responsibility to be “the salt of the earth.” Jesus’ call for us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world means that we can’t simply condemn culture and withdraw from it. We must live in a culture and under God. The goal is to learn to distinguish our cultural tendencies from biblical truths.

If you want to live intentionally, pursue God every day. Psalm 16:8 says, “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (NIV). Keep your eyes on God and look to Him for direction. Stay in His word. He will show you the way. Be purposeful and deliberate in your pursuit of God.

Life is filled with ups and downs, and our hearts must be constantly renewed and transformed to be like Christ’s. However, if we welcome God to transform us even when it’s hard, we will be on the right path to living an intentional life.

Discussion Questions:

1. Being intentional means knowing who you are, whose you are, why you’re here, where you’re going, and how to get there. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
2. What would it look like to practically pursue God’s purpose for your life daily?

“Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an ‘outer you’ that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an ‘inner you.’ You have a spirit. And it’s constantly being shaped and tugged at: by what you hear and watch and say and read and think and experience.” – John Ortberg.

The moment of saying yes to Jesus is powerful.  You feel euphoria or total peace as you deeply experience God’s love. It’s a special moment. But after that moment, God invites us to work with Him, to co-operate with Him, and to enter into a life of practice and spiritual training to become like Christ. We do not automatically become like Jesus. It takes time, it takes practice, it takes suffering, it takes failure, it takes a life of trust, and it takes intentionality.

“Spiritual formation” is the process of sanctification in which God uses every circumstance in believers’ lives to become more like Jesus. So spiritual formation asks the question: who are we becoming?  If we are to become apprentices of Jesus, we have to intentionally model our lives, habits, and practices on Jesus. We can be transformed into who Jesus calls us, but this will require change or spiritual formation.  John Mark Comer says that Christian spiritual formation is “the process of being formed into a person of self-giving love through deepening surrender to and union with the Trinity.”

The Bible uses the metaphor of the potter and the clay. We, as believers, are the clay, and God is the potter forming us into a specific shape. We are formed by our circumstances, our family, our gifts, the choices we make, that habits we have, our relationships, the job we work at, in fact just about everything is forming us and shaping us into a certain shape. The same applies to our spiritual formation. Our lives, our habits, our choices, our environment, and our spiritual practices all give a kind of shape to our lives and the condition of our hearts.

Spiritual formation can be unintentional or intentional. As the name implies, unintentional spiritual development is shaped by life experiences, habits, relationships, and environment without conscious intention. But spiritual growth and becoming more mature in one’s relationship with Jesus Christ is intentional. Someone who is growing spiritually will become more and more like Christ.

The most practical and powerful way to move towards Christ-like maturity is to establish habits that promote spiritual growth. Most often, we call these habits “spiritual disciplines.” It is the consistent, faithful, and intentional pursuit of Christ that develops our character and makes us like Jesus. We must pay close attention to our spiritual lives because no one accidentally grows spiritually; it takes intentionality. Remember Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 4:7-8: “Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

Rather than passively let outside influences shape us, we are called, as apprentices of Jesus, to be intentional with our beliefs, habits, relationships, and experiences as we seek to curate our lives to grow in our love for Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

1. We can’t change our lives until we change what we do every day. Agree or disagree and why?
2. What beneficial habits are you developing in your life? Determine to do them daily.

Summary: Let’s face it,  life can be hard. Relationships provide meaning and reflection; they help us organize who we are and what we do in this world. However, relationships can be complex. Relationships take work. It is easy to forget how much work as relationships change, evolve and transform over time. And that includes our relationship with God.

The butterfly is considered a wonder of nature. It symbolizes personal transformation, changes, and rebirth. The metamorphosis of a caterpillar is amazing. It disappears into a chrysalis created from its own body, and before long, a delicate and graceful winged butterfly emerges. The butterfly is often used as a metaphor for the different stages we go through to become who we are meant to be.

As Christians, we believe we are constantly being transformed into Christ’s likeness through a lifelong process. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” We also believe that transformation should be faster than the time-lapse video speed we are experiencing.

The good news is that transformation is not about speed but about becoming like Jesus. The Bible tells us about a notorious sinner transformed by the Lord. His name was Zacchaeus.  The story of Zacchaeus’s transformation is told in the Bible in Luke 19:1-10. The story describes how a wealthy tax collector was transformed into a follower of Jesus.

The love of Jesus transformed Zacchaeus’ life. There is no more powerful force than that of love. Love holds the power to transform everything it touches. The transforming power of love heals the deepest wounds and softens the harshest scars. Love alters outcomes and changes lives. The transforming love of Jesus is the idea that God’s love through Jesus can change people’s lives and make them more like Christ. The transformation prompted Zacchaeus to give away half his earthly goods and restore what he had defrauded fourfold. Where many people may change their ways in the future, Zacchaeus took full responsibility for what he had done in the past and was ready to make it right. Transformation requires sacrifice. Jesus has been changing people for thousands of years. Not superficial change but molding them into His likeness.

As we conform to the image of Christ, we show God’s love to those around us. Godly, transforming love is expressed to others in how we live, not what we say. The love of God is the fuel that transforms us into people who routinely and quickly become more like Jesus than mere conformity.

Discussion Questions:

1. God loves you too much to stay the same: agree or disagree and why?
2. What areas of your life need to change or be transformed? 

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” – Psalm 16:8-11.

In a world filled with constant demands and distractions, the call to simplify our lives is a spiritual practice that involves prioritizing what matters: our connection with God.  Talking about simplifying our lives and doing it is to separate things. The need to balance work, family, and other commitments can be overwhelming, leaving people who want to be more like Jesus exhausted and drained.

To tackle this issue, we have to prioritize our spiritual life. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” As we make our spiritual life a priority, we ensure that time is set aside for prayer, Bible study, and seeking God’s presence. Everything else may still be important but is secondary to our relationship with God.

Psalm 16:8 states, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord.” That statement seems obvious. Maintaining a constant focus on Jesus Christ is essential because it helps you stay grounded in faith, find strength through difficult times, and avoid distractions from worldly concerns by centering your attention on His guidance and example. Hebrews 12:2 says, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith….”Before you can simplify your life, take a moment to be still before God: “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world” (Psalm 46:10).

We need to love more intentionally if we are going to simplify our lives and focus on what matters most. Although this is difficult to master, the more you practice living for what you value, the easier it becomes. Try carving out a day a week when you intentionally take time to focus on what matters and let everything else fall to the wayside.

When we make abiding in Jesus our number one priority, we see our other responsibilities in light of that. As we go about our day, He’ll show us what to do and what to let go of. The Holy Spirit will lead us. When obeying in Jesus becomes our first concern, we can handle challenges more gracefully. Jesus renews our peace, gives us wisdom for our next right thing, and enables us to navigate our priorities step by step.

“If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point?” – Rick Warren.

Discussion Questions:

1. Which areas of your life could benefit most from simplification?
2. How can focusing on your relationship with God help simplify other aspects of your life? 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.” – Acts 1:8-9.

Acts 1: 8-9 describes the momentous event when Jesus ascends to His Father. Jesus had prepared them that this day was coming. In fact, He said it was good.  In John 16:7, back at the Last Supper, He said, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” 

Imagine you are a disciple, and you are trying to wrap your head around the idea that it is good that Jesus goes away. I’m sure if we were in their shoes, we would struggle with any scenario of  Jesus not being there. Who could blame us? Jesus is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and unchangeable. He is equal with God the Father. He demonstrates compassion in every interaction, advocates for a world where love and forgiveness prevail, and exemplifies humility in every aspect of His life. Who wouldn’t want more time with Him?

Jesus told the disciples He would leave beforehand to prepare them emotionally and mentally. But Jesus also had a way to prepare them spiritually. He left friends, family members, and loved ones. But He didn’t leave them or us orphaned. He gave them and gave us the Holy Spirit.

We need the Holy Spirit to understand and live out God’s will. He guides us in our daily lives, reveals truths about God, convicts us of sin, empowers us to live righteously, and provides the strength to resist temptation. He essentially acts as a constant presence of God within us to live a life dedicated to Him; without the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t have the ability to truly comprehend God’s plan or live a life aligned with His teachings.

The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of everything Jesus said. As we read God’s Word, we can trust the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read. We can also expect the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance the truth about who God is, who we are, what God promises, what God has done, and what God will do. The Holy Spirit renews us. This renewing work begins the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, but it also continues each day as we respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

God did not leave us alone to fend for ourselves. He provided an amazing Helper in the person of the Holy Spirit who will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves—if we let Him.   

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe a time when you became aware of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life.